The widespread growth in popularity of wireless communications has given rise to a commensurate growth in the number of end-user devices that are equipped with wireless communication functionality. Once limited to cellular telephones and pagers, the industry has now expanded to provide wireless communication functionality in many other types of devices as well, including, for example, notebook computers, personal digital assistants, cameras, media players, vending machines, automobiles, parking meters, factory equipment, and household appliances, among others.
The recent introduction of WiMAX technology promises to further increase the proliferation of wirelessly-equipped devices. WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) is an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) standard, designated 802.16, and provides a robust mechanism for wireless communication between base stations and subscriber stations. In particular, WiMAX is designed to provide fixed, portable or non-line-of-sight service with a potential range of 6 miles, a potential bandwidth on the order of 40 megabits per second, and superior quality of service and security.
Current industry plans call for a WiMAX forum to test and certify WiMAX chipsets and for chipset manufacturers to include on each chipset a digital certificate such as an X.509 certificate in accordance with International Telecommunications Union (ITU) recommendations. It is anticipated that manufacturers of such chipsets will then sell the certified chipsets to device manufacturers, who will then embed the chipsets in end-user devices so as to enable the devices to engage in wireless communication.
When a user buys a WiMAX-equipped device and first powers up the device, the WiMAX chipset will search for a signal from a service provider's WiMAX base station and, upon finding the signal, will then engage in an authentication process. In particular, the chipset will transmit its X.509 certificate to the base station and may then engage in back and forth communication with the base station to facilitate validation of the chipset. If the base station successfully authenticates the chipset, the base station will then allow the chipset to engage in higher level communication with the network.
A problem that the present inventors have discovered with this arrangement is that it does not allow the service provider to determine the type and capabilities of device in which the WiMAX chipset is embedded. The X.509 certification process merely allows the service provider to authenticate the WiMAX chipset, so as to determine that the chipset is a valid WiMAX chipset. However, the act of authenticating the WiMAX chipset does not provide the service provider with any useful information about the device in which the chipset is embedded, such as an indication of what type of device it is (e.g., an MP3 player, a camera, a notebook computer, a dishwasher, or the like) and what its features and capabilities are. Consequently, the service provider would be unable to provide the device with communication service specifically tailored to (or appropriate for) the particular device, and the service provider would similarly be unable to provision the device with application logic and other data tailored to the particular device.
One possible solution to this problem is to have the service provider, or some central authority, maintain a profile database that correlates each WiMAX chipset's X.509 certificate or other device identifier with the type/capabilities of the device in which the chipset is embedded. That way, when the service provider receives the chipset's X.509 certificate, the service provider can not only authenticate the chipset but can also query the profile database to determine the type and capabilities of the device in which the chipset is embedded.
A problem with this solution when it comes to initial service provisioning of WiMAX devices, however, is that the solution would require establishment and maintenance of the profile database in the first place, and then reference to the profile data in practice. Manufacturers of WiMAX-embedded devices would need to populate the profile database with device type/capability data at the time of manufacture, once the WiMAX chipset is embedded in a particular device. Furthermore, the data stored in such a profile database would in theory need to be maintained forever, to facilitate reference to the data whenever the device may be first distributed to an end-user and powered up (e.g., to account for possibly long shelf life before activation). Along those lines, the profile data might also need to be updated to reflect any changes to the device capabilities before the device reaches the end-user (or, in theory, after the end-user obtains the device). Unfortunately, these restrictions could hamper widespread distribution and use of WiMAX-embedded devices.
Another possible solution to the problem is to have a user manually inform the service provider of the type of device and the device capabilities. For instance, the user could call a service provider or could interact with the service provider through a web interface and could provide the service provider with a description of the device that will try to obtain WiMAX connectivity. However, requiring an end user to manually convey this sort of information to a service provider would result in a far more complex and far less seamless experience for the user and could similarly hamper widespread adoption of WiMAX technology.
These and other issues underscore the need for an improvement.